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T O P I C R E V I E W

William

I put my autograph collecting on the back burner for a couple years and am wanting to start up again — my major focus on shuttle astronauts. Besides autograph shows, and public appearances, what are the best ways to meet up with shuttle astronauts?

Hart Sastrowardoyo

It's still a public appearance, but sometimes an astronaut will be the keynote speaker at a non-space related event, such as a leadership or safety conference. The downside is that sometimes these events carry high attendance fees. Or they can be low-cost or even free if they're speaking at a college alumni dinner or church.

And sometimes you just have to be prepared because you never know who will turn up. Kevin Kregel, for example, was in the audience as an attendee to see his crewmate Tom Henricks speak on the Intrepid. At the last two Naval history presentations at the Academy, other astronauts were also there as attendees.

sprocketship

Maybe you can do a little detective work and find out which shuttle astronauts are still working at NASA and contact them there for signatures.

Shane Kimbrough (STS-126) made an appearance in Atlanta last February and told me he's working on the Orion project. So, I'm sure others are still around...

Hart Sastrowardoyo

Indeed. The question was on meeting up with shuttle astronauts, but when I started rebuilding my collection almost five years ago I started by writing the astronauts that were active. That left tracking down the retired astronauts through in-person appearances or writing them for an autograph until I could meet them.

alanh_7

The detective work is part of the fun. I recently was able to track down contacts for several shuttle astronauts who were more than willing to sign as long as I paid postage.

William

I'm reacquainting myself with the site — is there a list of astronauts on here who sign?

Robert Pearlman

Our Resources guide is limited to only pre-shuttle astronauts. This forum however, has many threads dedicated to the signing history and experience with individual and groups of astronauts.

alanh_7

The Canadian Space Agency was very helpful in tracking down contacts for Canadian astronauts. I was able to contact them and ask politely if they could advise a contact on a retired Canadian shuttle/ISS/Soyuz astronaut (not Chris Hadfield) and they made contact for me and then advised that it was ok to contact him directly and gave the email. He in turn emailed me back and was more than willing to sign.

Hart Sastrowardoyo

quote:Originally posted by alanh_7:The detective work is part of the fun.

Indeed it is. Not only do some shuttle astronauts have websites - Danny Olivas sells his book through his - but it's fun tracking down various astronaut appearances and then meeting the one you've been looking for, for a long time.

I can't tell you how many college campuses I've been to, or for that matter, how many events I've been at. People are starting to recognize me, asking if I work for NASA, or asking me if I was at such-and-such event, or hear my name and recognizing me from my postings on FB and Twitter on astronaut appearances.